Small Business Owners! Don’t Get Troubled By Taxes!

Tax can be tricky; not just because crunching numbers is a complete nightmare, but because the tax climate is always changing; it is constantly subject to political shifts and amendments. You can expect tax law to change at least once every year. Forking out hundreds on an accountant may seem like a steep price to pay, but you’ll ultimately save time and money.

Managing Your Accountant

Small businesses can run into big tax problems – it’s best to leave it to the professionals. The first step is to establish the terms of engagement, or an engagement letter. This details the rights of each party, principally so you’re both covered.

Go through this properly and ensure that you are happy with its content – don’t be afraid to make any amendments, where you see fit. Businesses are organic, and as yours grows and changes, so will this document – make sure it is up to date.

Provide your accountant with the necessary paperwork, so they are in the best position to give you helpful business advice. They may be able to maximise your profits through a fiscal business strategy.

Freeing up Time

A small business can amount to as little as a handful of employees. As such, it’s likely your staff are already stretched, without the added difficulties that come with tax. Employing an accountant means you can focus on expanding your business, whilst your accountant takes care of all the tricky paperwork.

Most of all, having someone fully qualified to deal with all your tax problems is great for peace of mind – as a developing business, you have enough on your plate without worrying about audits.

However, you should meet your accountant at least once a year to review the fiscal health and profitability of your business. They can advise you on which steps you should take next, financially.

Know Your Qualifications

To get the best out of your business, you should choose an accountant who has the best skills, qualifications, and specialities for you. Knowing the professional bodies that award accountancy qualifications can be an easy way to ensure that you’re getting a good service for your money, but there are also many unqualified accountants who have many years of accountancy experience, and are just as adept as their peers.

When it comes to accountancy certificates, look out for ATTs and CTAs; the latter is a higher qualification in tax grounding, and they refer to themselves as chartered tax advisors – this term can only be used by those with a CTA certificate.

Accountants and Tax Advisers

There is a subtle difference between the two. Tax advisers tend to specialise in a certain field, whereas accountants are general knowledge experts. If you require advice on a particular aspect of taxation, going to a specialist may be your safest bet. Some examples of tax specialists are: VAT advisers, stamp duty land tax advisers, and property tax advisers, but of course, there are much more!

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